A buszmegálló távol volt az étteremtől, ezért gyalog mentünk.

Breakdown of A buszmegálló távol volt az étteremtől, ezért gyalog mentünk.

lenni
to be
mi
we
-től
from
menni
to go
ezért
so
étterem
the restaurant
buszmegálló
the bus stop
távol
far
gyalog
on foot
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Questions & Answers about A buszmegálló távol volt az étteremtől, ezért gyalog mentünk.

Why does étterem change to étteremtől, and what does -től mean?
The suffix -től is the ablative case marker in Hungarian, showing “from” or “away from” a location. Attaching it to étterem gives étteremtől = “from the restaurant.” It also follows vowel harmony: since étterem has front vowels (é/e/e), it takes the front-vowel suffix -től rather than the back-vowel -tól.
Why is there an article az before étteremtől?
Even when a noun has a case suffix, Hungarian uses the definite article (a/az) with definite nouns. So az étteremtől = “from the restaurant.” Without the article, it would sound indefinite or incorrect in this context.
What is the function of távol volt, and why isn’t there a single verb meaning “was far”?
Hungarian doesn’t have one verb that means “to be far.” Instead, you pair the adjective távol (“far”) with the verb van/volt (“is/was”). Here volt is the past form, so távol volt literally means “was far.”
Could you replace távol with messze?
Yes. messze is a synonym of távol and also combines with van/volt: messze volt az étteremtől conveys exactly the same meaning: “it was far from the restaurant.”
Why is there a comma before ezért, and what role does ezért play?
Ezért is a conjunctive adverb meaning “therefore/so.” It links two main clauses, and Hungarian punctuation requires a comma before such connectors: “..., ezért ...” signals the cause–result relationship.
What does gyalog mean and why is it placed before mentünk?
Gyalog is an adverb meaning “on foot/by foot.” Manner adverbs in Hungarian normally precede the verb, so gyalog mentünk = “we went on foot.”
Why isn’t there a pronoun mi for “we” in mentünk?
Hungarian verbs are conjugated to show the subject. Mentünk is already the first-person plural past form of menni (“to go”), so you don’t need to add mi unless you want to emphasize “we.”
Could you say mentünk gyalog, or use sétáltunk instead?
  • mentünk gyalog is also correct; word order in Hungarian is flexible, though gyalog mentünk is more neutral.
  • sétáltunk means “we strolled/walked leisurely,” emphasizing a leisurely walk, whereas gyalog mentünk focuses on walking as the means of getting somewhere.
How is buszmegálló formed, and why isn’t there a space or hyphen?
Buszmegálló is a compound noun formed from busz (“bus”) + megálló (“stop”). In Hungarian, compounds are typically written as one word without spaces or hyphens.
Is the word order fixed? Could you say Az étteremtől távol volt a buszmegálló, ezért gyalog mentünk?
Hungarian has relatively flexible word order. That version is perfectly grammatical; it just emphasizes the fact that the bus stop was far from the restaurant before stating what followed. The original order is more neutral in tone.